President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. extended condolences to Thailand’s Royal Family following the death of Princess Bajrakitiyabha Narendira Debyavati, the eldest child of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, on Thursday.
“On behalf of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Filipino people, I extend my deepest condolences to His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn, the Royal Family, and the people of Thailand on the passing of Her Royal Highness Princess Bajrakitiyabha Narendira Debyavati,” Marcos said in a statement.
Marcos also acknowledged the princess’s dedication to public service and her commitment to justice, human dignity, and women’s rights.
Princess Bajrakitiyabha was 47. She had been in a coma for nearly four years after collapsing in December 2022 from a heart condition while visiting Nakhon Ratchasima province in northeastern Thailand.
The princess died on Thursday evening after her condition worsened due to an intra-abdominal infection, colitis, low blood pressure, arrhythmias and blood-clotting disorders, according to a palace statement.
Lawyer royalty
Known as Princess Pa, she was born on 7 December 1978 to the then Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn and his first wife, Princess Soamsawali.
Princess Pa studied law at Cornell University, obtaining a master’s degree and a doctorate, and worked as an attorney in the Thai Office of the Attorney-General between 2006 and 2011.
She was also Thailand’s ambassador to Austria, Slovenia, and Slovakia before returning to the attorney-general’s office in Bangkok, and was a founder of a charity that promotes the rights of female inmates.
Alongside this, Bajrakitiyabha was appointed as a goodwill ambassador for the rule of law in Southeast Asia by the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in 2017.
